Michelle reviews the 1978 animated feature, Watership Down.
 |
| "Blooooodddd of wabbits!!!" |
People have the tendency to romanticize nature and wax
poetic about its beauty and grandeur. In reality, nature is equal parts
exquisiteness and ugliness—and both are represented in the gorgeous and brutal
animated film Watership Down. It
seems that animated films used to be gloomier back in the day, and they often
explored more mature themes (even though they were still made with children in
mind). Modern day cartoons have taken a definite shift towards the more
family-friendly route, but have become more generic in the transition for the
most part.
Watership Down is
based on the novel of the same name by Richard Adams. He is well-known for
writing animal-based stories and even had another one of his books, Plague Dogs, animated as well. Adams’
tales always have had tragedy running through them and it’s usually involving
cute animals which makes it harder to bear. Watership
Down concerns the exploits of a warren of rabbits who may be in danger of
losing their home. Fiver, a rabbit who has visions, foresees an apocalyptic
event happening in the near future and tries to get the rabbits to leave and go
to a safer place. The interactions between the rabbits is complex and
nuanced—much more than someone would expect from a film about cartoon bunnies.
The film has two styles: whimsical and realistic. Most of
the opening portion of the film uses the more adorable look and then it shifts
to a naturalistic look for the remainder of the movie. The rabbits are
anthropomorphic in the sense that they speak, but in their actions they are
definitely wild animals. They attack each other viciously, leaving bleeding
gashes and mangled bodies out in the wilderness to die. It’s actually quite
harrowing and gruesome and I remember being unsettled watching it as a child. It
is interesting to note, however, that I never thought it was inappropriate and
it opened my mind to the idea and reality of death. Perhaps it’s not the place
for an animated movie to impart such notions, but it definitely left a strong
impact. Nature is nothing but life and death and there is beauty in both of
those concepts.
 |
| "I don't know. I just want carrots." |
This film’s animation is elegant and subdued in that wispy,
British sort of way (it’s reminiscent of The
Wind in the Willows, another English animal-orientated film that came
later). Its color scheme is rich with earthy browns and rich greens and the
occasional splash of blood red. All of the rabbits and other animals move
convincingly, and if it weren’t for the fact that they are talking, it could
almost be mistaken for a nature documentary. Watercolor inspired backgrounds
are painted in broad strokes with beautiful sunsets, fluffy clouds and insects
buzzing around lazily on the flowers. There is a dark fairytale being told
here, with the suffering and joyfulness shown in equal measure. Art Garfunkel
provides the surprisingly emotional song Bright
Eyes which coincides with a particularly beautiful scene in the film. Sad
orchestral music rounds out the rest of the score but Bright Eyes is the most memorable, and became a number one hit on
the British music charts.
As this film is quite violent, it did get some balking from
parents concerned about it scaring their children. This hasn’t softened with
age, in fact, I found the themes in the film to be even more subversive upon watching
it as an adult. There are references to fascism, genocide, fear of change,
nihilism, caste systems, and ultimately death. It’s very heavy underneath the
children’s storybook façade but meaningful as well. Parents may want to watch
it with their children so as to be
able to discuss it with them, but opening dialogue in such a way is not a bad
thing. Ultimately, it is a must-see movie for people who love animation--young
and old alike.
-Michelle Kisner